Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks are in rally-mode as participants digest Fed Chair Powell's comments. The S&P 500 trades 1.2% higher and the Nasdaq Composite sports a 1.7% gain.

Mr. Powell corroborated the market's view on imminent rate cuts beginning in September, saying "the time has come for policy to adjust."

New home sales surged 10.6% month-over-month in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 739,000 units (Briefing.com consensus 628,000) from an upwardly revised 668,000 (from 617,000) in June. On a year-over-year basis, new home sales were up 5.6%.

The key takeaway from the report is that new home sales, which are tabulated when contracts are signed, saw an encouraging jump in July that coincided with mortgage rates coming down.